Dingerheri village, which lies adjacent to the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, has a population of a little over 1,000, and is described by residents as well as officials as a “peaceful” place.

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The murder, gangrape and robbery Wednesday night has shaken up residents. “This is a village where even robberies are few and far between. We could never have imagined that something like this would happen here,” said Naresh, a 40-year-old resident of the village.

Residents of the village said both families targeted by the robbers were “normal, friendly people”, with “no fights or enemies”, as far as they knew. They had lived in the village all their lives but had moved to the single-room establishments, where the attack took place, only eight years ago, said residents.

The Tauru police station is around 3 km away from the village. Inspector Jaiprakash, the SHO of Tauru police station, said, “Dingerheri, and all of Mewat for that matter, is a peace loving area. Such incidents have not happened here before. This is the first such crime in my memory.”

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Residents said they were feeling vulnerable after the crime. “Like the two families that were targeted, we all live in isolation, surrounded by our fields. Our houses are far apart, so something like this is very worrying,” said Azruhaan, a 50-year-old resident of the village. “This family was like the rest of us, friendly and peace loving. Today it is them, tomorrow it could just as easily be us,” he added.

Amid the worries, residents of the area are putting their faith in police. “Things have changed for us overnight. Till now, we thought such things would never happen here. If these men are caught, we will, at least, know that the likelihood of something similar happening will be less,” said a resident of the village.

The bodies of the man and his wife killed in the attack by the robbers were handed over to their family after post-mortem Thursday. “The post-mortem report revealed the man and his wife died of injuries inflicted from blunt weapons. While the man died of injuries inflicted on his head, his wife died of injuries sustained on her arm,” said Inspector Jaiprakash.

IGP Mamta Singh said, “The children have sustained minor injuries since they were also beaten up.” The injuries of the complainant’s uncle and aunt are more serious, she added. According to Singh, the couple, also in their forties, was brutally beaten up with thick, wooden sticks. While the woman is “completely stable”, her husband has a more serious head injury, “but is also stable for now”, said Singh. “It is unclear right now how long the recovery will take and when they will be discharged.”